Breaking The Habit

[Little B-Py]

what is the easiest way to secure the top of a tub? I assume I wouldn't be able to stack one tub on top of the other unless it was a rack system.

[771subliminal]

what is the easiest way to secure the top of a tub? I assume I wouldn't be able to stack one tub on top of the other unless it was a rack system.

bungee cord is cheap and easy

[hoax]

OK my friend every one else pretty much has the right answers except one...

You do not have to change to tubs. You do have to change what size enclosure they are in. People who like the Glass Vivarium usually use a 20 gallon long. Depending on where you live they run around $75-$125 each. You will want to use this resource that some one has painstakingly made for those who use glass. I know a lot of people have used this and have a great husbandry set up. It is more expensive but if you really want to use a glass tank then this is the only way to go. http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?t=56846

If you can not afford to put the money into a set up like this then tubs would be best for you. There is a DIY forum for racks and tubs. http://ball-pythons.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=68

Hope some of this helps. There are a lot of knowledgeable people on here. If it looks like some one is attacking you for what you are doing or if it looks like they are angry normally it is just because they are angry the person was mis-informed or the person is not listening.

[Mike Cavanaugh]

OP, just know.... that we all know what kind of advice you got at the pet store. this isn't the first time that has happened!

Follow the advice so far, and continue to ask quesitons along the way. I agree you can still use a tank if you really want, but it needs to be a 20 long, and it is expensive to get right compared to a tub setup that costs about 1/5 as much.

(I have about 6 snakes in tanks... the other 15 or so are in racks.)

Mike

[Egapal]

Everyone seems to have covered everything. My only comment would be that everyone jumps to feeding live extremely quickly. Remember that a healthy ball python can go a few weeks without eating no problem. Really they can go a few months if they are big enough to begin with. I recently had my BP refuse to take F/T mice. She went 21 days between feedings. There was no secret to making her eat again. I read over the care sheets again. Checked everything, I decided to increase the size of her hides just a bit so that she would have a bit more room to take a mouse in her hide and eat in peace. I offered her a mouse every 5 days till she finally ate. She has had 3 meals back to back 5 days apart since. F/T is a perfectly fine way to feed snakes you just have to be patient. Have your husbandry up to snuff and make sure the mouse is in good shape and heated up to the temp of a live mouse. Sometimes I find that my BP will come up to the mouse flick her tongue at it, stare at it with those heat pits of hers and I swear I can here her say "Could you warm that up a bit for me, and stop phoning it in. I need you to make the mouse dance, make me believe that its scared, confused and a long way from home." I heat the mouse up a bit more grab my tongs and give her a good show and she scares the crap out of me with a violent strike and wrap.

[JohnNJ]

You do not have to change to tubs. You do have to change what size enclosure they are in. People who like the Glass Vivarium usually use a 20 gallon long. Depending on where you live they run around $75-$125 each.

I highly recommend the Critter Cage from Zilla. It has a sliding screen built in to the top of the tank. It is very secure and well made.

http://www.zilla-rules.com/products/critter-cages.htm

JohnNJ

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Everyone seems to have covered everything. My only comment would be that everyone jumps to feeding live extremely quickly.

No everyone is not jumping to live, but people are rather suggesting to try live (that’s different and based on experience), there is absolutely NO REASON to assist an healthy BP.

Assist feeding should be done as a LAST RESORT when everything has failed and the health of the animal is declining.

In this case as I suspected (hence my questions) there is no reason to assist, there are husbandry issues. Even when solved if the animals are still not eating assisting will still not be the answer.

Also when acquiring a new animal the priority is to get them to eat not switched, switching should be done when the animal is eating with consistency and is well established.

[Little B-Py]

I live in a cold house so tubs will definitly be my best bet when it comes to keeping the humidity/temps correct. Once I get them done how long should I wait to handle them while they get used to their new surroundings? Oakley is currently nursing an injury so how long should I wait to try and feed him? Can I keep the same schedule with Hissy too?

[Stewart_Reptiles]

I live in a cold house so tubs will definitly be my best bet when it comes to keeping the humidity/temps correct. Once I get them done how long should I wait to handle them while they get used to their new surroundings? Oakley is currently nursing an injury so how long should I wait to try and feed him? Can I keep the same schedule with Hissy too?

Once you adjust your husbandry, give them 7 to 10 days without any handling (if possible).

Once 7 days have passed try to offer food preferably the same kind of prey they used to eat prior to you acquiring them.

While Oakley might still refuse food (due to the stress of having to treat him daily) I would still try to offer food and see if after a week in his new environment he will take it.

Good luck.

[Little B-Py]

Ya'll have no idea how much help ya'll have been. I went today and got the tubs and supplies. As I type I am working on getting the temps right and once my fiancee gets home with the hides I'll take some pics. I couldn't get 10 qt because they only had 1 so I went ahead and got 2 19 qts. I like them better because they are a little bit taller. I have the UTHs on repti-temp 500r's (I know I need thermostats) and I am watching it closely to dial in the temps for both of them. I am using the accurite thermometers that I had on the old tanks to measure it.